Wagner out as radio voice of the Toronto Blue Jays
Global News
The Toronto Blue Jays will have a new radio voice next season after rights-holder Sportsnet elected not to renew the contract of broadcaster Ben Wagner.
TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays will have a new radio voice next season after rights-holder Sportsnet elected not to renew the contract of broadcaster Ben Wagner.
The network confirmed the decision in a statement on Wednesday.
“After six seasons as the voice of our baseball radio broadcasts, Sportsnet has decided not to renew Ben Wagner’s contract for next season. Thank you, Ben, for sharing your voice and expertise with listeners across Canada. We wish you the very best.”
Wagner succeeded longtime radio voice Jerry Howarth in the position. Howarth retired in early 2018 after 36 years of calling games for Canada’s lone Major League Baseball team.
Sportsnet plans to announce its radio broadcast plans “prior to the start of the 2024 season,” network spokesman Jason Jackson said in an email.
Interview requests with Sportsnet executives were declined. A message left with Wagner was not immediately returned.
Before moving to the big leagues, Wagner spent 11 seasons as a radio and television broadcaster for the Buffalo Bisons, the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate. The 43-year-old native of New Paris, Ind., started broadcasting professional baseball games in 2004 with the Class-A Lakewood BlueClaws.
Wagner was always an early arrival at the ballpark before each Blue Jays game. He had a penchant for asking thoughtful, probing questions to help strengthen the storytelling on the broadcast.
